Chapter 9: Chapter 9 Selection 1

Yang Ji quickly browsed through the three houses but didn't settle in immediately.

Instead, he turned around and left the small courtyard.

With a thousand Spirit Stones in his possession, finally having his first pot of gold, although he didn't find any treasures on Heavenly Water Island, he had seen quite a few good items at the street stalls when he first arrived in Nanfeng City.

He decided to explore once more.

If he could pick up one or two treasures and double his thousand Spirit Stones, that would be ideal.

With that in mind, Yang Ji had already walked from the edge of the city to the center, where there was a main street wide enough for ten carriages to travel abreast.

The main street was bustling, with endless prosperity and throngs of people, carriages, and horses everywhere.

Shops lined both sides of the street, with numerous scattered stalls and the sounds of vendors hawking their goods rising and falling around him.

This was also a place frequented by cultivators, with a quick glance revealing no fewer than thirty.

Yang Ji liked this atmosphere and immediately began browsing the stalls.

He inquired about the "Silver Spirit Fruit Seed" and "Immortal Spirit Peach Sapling" he had seen before.

But the sellers recognized these odd treasures, so they were firm on price, one asking for fifteen hundred Spirit Stones, and the other for two thousand, not budging at all.

Yang Ji, having no other choice, had to turn to other stalls.

He also saw the guy selling Deep Sea Sinking stone, who was the most outrageous of all.

That piece of Sinkstone looked like an extraordinary ore, and he was insisting on a price of three thousand Spirit Stones, truly convinced it was Mystic Iron. Searᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Foolishness isn't scary, what's frightening is foolishness with a high price tag.

Yang Ji watched the old brother repeatedly strike the Sinkstone with his Low-grade Magic Artifacts, sparks flying and loud banging sounds drawing the attention of many cultivators.

If it were truly split open with an axe and its interior revealed, who knew what he would think? He probably would have his face fall on the spot.

Yang Ji shook his head with a smile, retracting his gaze and turning to other stalls.

"Fellow Daoist, care to look at some Talismans?" Seeing Yang Ji's gaze, a kind-looking elderly cultivator immediately smiled at him.

"What Talismans do you have? Which grades?" Yang Ji squatted down and asked.

"I only have the elementary and intermediate Fire Dragon Talisman here, drawn with the blood of a Level Six Flame Snake mixed with my fire attribute Spiritual Power. Once activated, the Talisman will turn into a ten-foot-long Flame Snake that lashes out fiercely, with great power, strong enough to severely injure a Level Six Demonic Beast in a single blow.

Seventy Spirit Stones each, non-negotiable price. How about two, fellow Daoist?" the old man said slowly and deliberately.

Yang Ji looked at the Talismans, their surfaces faintly flickering with fire, rich in Spiritual Energy, indeed genuine elementary and intermediate Talismans.

With the old man's permission, he reached out to take a Talisman, ready to inspect it closely.

As soon as he took hold of the Talisman, he felt a warmth.

The seemingly thin Talisman was surprisingly heavy to hold, as if a Level Six Flame Snake was sealed within it. He could sense the enormous Spiritual Energy slowly flowing inside it.

Indeed, such Talismans could cause some damage to Demonic Beasts between Levels Four and Six, but not enough to be fatal. Selling them for seventy a piece was quite expensive.

However, the old man looked detached and confident, with a fixed price, clearly not worried about making a sale.

Yang Ji couldn't help but sigh; Talisman Masters were truly impressive—casually drawing on Spell Paper worth a few Spirit Stones and selling it for the high price of seventy showed they were undoubtedly one of the more lucrative professions in the world of cultivation.

At this moment, he couldn't help but ponder whether he should buy some books on Talismans and learn to draw them himself in the future?

"Fellow Daoist, how about two?" Seeing Yang Ji staring at the Talisman, the old man couldn't help but ask with a warm smile.

Yang Ji shook his head, putting down the spiritual talisman.

For him at the moment, such talismans were still too luxurious, and a thousand spirit stones were not enough to make him splurge recklessly. He had to be frugal and spend on what was most useful to him right now.

After giving the old man a smile, Yang Ji stood up and turned towards the other stalls.

He saw many oddities at the various stalls, but which cultivator present wasn't shrewd? They had lived longer than Yang Ji and had seen more, so finding a treasure was somewhat difficult.

Yang Ji browsed every stall but didn't find anything suitable to purchase, which was rather disappointing.

Just as he was about to leave, his gaze unintentionally caught sight of a young merchant who had just sat down, laid out his stall, and took out several bottles of medicine pills.

Medicine pills?

Yang Ji was intrigued, immediately walked over to the young merchant, and smilingly asked,

"Fellow Daoist, what kind of medicine pills are in these five bottles in front of you?"

The young merchant, with his fair and tender complexion, looked inexperienced. Seeing that he had customers as soon as he sat down, he eagerly looked at Yang Ji and pointed to the bottles as he introduced,

"Fellow Daoist, the four bottles in front here contain Spirit Enhancing Pills that aid in improving one's cultivation, namely Spirit Enhancing Pill, Spirit Qi Pill, Yellow Dragon Pill, and Cultivation Pill. Among them, the Spirit Enhancing Pill is the best, being a top-quality low-grade Spirit Pill.

In contrast, the bottle behind contains the Calming Heart Pill, which can swiftly induce a meditative state."

Listening to this youthful voice, many cultivators curiously turned their gaze.

Perhaps thinking that the young merchant looked naïve and easy to deceive, quite a few cultivators gathered around.

"Young friend, how many spirit stones for a bottle of Spirit Enhancing Pill?" a middle-aged cultivator casually asked.

"Five hundred spirit stones per bottle, each bottle contains five pills, enough for a Qi Refining Cultivator to cultivate for half a month," the young merchant replied with a smile.

"Five hundred spirit stones a bottle? Isn't that too expensive?"

The questioning middle-aged cultivator found an issue and deliberately frowned, saying,

"This Spirit Enhancing Pill is just a low-grade Spirit Pill, worth at most two hundred spirit stones a bottle, and yet you're asking for five hundred. Didn't your elders tell you this when you left home?"

The middle-aged cultivator's gaze carried a faint intimidation, like an elder reproaching, his aura pressing, and any ordinary youth would likely stammer, thinking they were at fault.

But this young merchant, who seemed to be about ten years old, replied calmly,

"There are low-grade Spirit Pills that cost two hundred spirit stones a bottle, like this Yellow Dragon Pill and Cultivation Pill," he said, pointing at two small porcelain bottles in front of him.

"If they're all low-grade Spirit Pills, why such a big difference in price?" the middle-aged cultivator said with a stern face.

"Yes, why is there such a big difference? Maybe this youngster got it wrong?" other cultivators looking to gain an advantage also spoke up forcefully, with an almost collective accusatory tone.

"My master has said that the quality of this bottle of Spirit Enhancing Pills is superior. It contains fewer impurities, and the medicinal effect is excellent," said the young merchant.

"As for the Yellow Dragon Pill and Cultivation Pills, although they are low-grade Spirit Pills, their quality is only inferior, containing more impurities."

"If you don't believe it, open and see for yourself."

The young merchant's expression remained unchanged, and he spoke honestly.

"Superior-quality low-grade Spirit Pill? You're not very old, but you've learned to deceive?" the middle-aged cultivator reprimanded lightly, picked up the pill bottle, and disdainfully removed the stopper.

After a sniff, a hint of surprise, difficult for the average person to notice, flashed in his eyes. He glanced at the young merchant, then focused on the contents of the bottle, examining it closely.

After three breaths, he frowned slightly and said,

"The pill fragrance is indeed rich, suggesting that the medicinal power is excellently preserved. However, to say it's of superior quality, I think it falls short. There are still impurities inside; at most it's of medium quality."